WILL THE NLRB GET A FULL SLATE? Obama Adds Three to Pending Nominations

Client Bulletin #496

This week, in an apparent attempt to
minimize the damage from the Noel
Canning decision, President Obama announced three more
nominations to the National Labor Relations Board – two Republicans, and one
Democrat. These new nominations, coupled with the February nominations of
current "recess appointees" Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, would give the
Board its first full slate since August 2010 if approved by the
Senate.

The latest nominees include current
Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce, a Democrat and union-side labor lawyer from
Buffalo, whose term will otherwise expire in August. The two Republican
appointees are Philip Miscimarra of Chicago and Harry I. Johnson, III, of Los
Angeles, both management-side labor and employment lawyers.

The reaction to the President's latest
three appointments is expected to be positive overall. The U.S. House of
Representatives is set to vote on a bill intended to block the Board from making decisions while acting
without a quorum of three validly appointed members. However,
Miscimarra and Johnson both appear to be extremely well-suited to articulate
views that will provide a refreshing contrast with the one-sided,
results-oriented approach favoring organized labor that has been demonstrated so
far by Pearce, Block, and Griffin.

About Constangy, Brooks
& Smith, LLPConstangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP has
counseled employers on labor and employment law matters, exclusively, since
1946. A "Go To" Law Firm in Corporate Counsel and Fortune
Magazine, it represents Fortune 500 corporations and small companies across
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